Tamil Thalaivas vs. U Mumba match review

The Tamil Thalaivas curtailed a long-running losing streak with a thunderous Ajay Thakur performance the highlight of the day. This defeat sees the U Mumba lose out on a place in the Super Playoffs. Some would argue that U Mumba let the pressure get to them, as a subdued performance from a team with so much on the line should be out of question. Ajay Thakur scored a remarkable 15 raid points, and one extremely valuable tackle point.

Ajay Thakur and K.Prapanjan got off the line fast, gaining a quick 4-0 lead by the 5^th minute. U Mumba seemed legless without the presence of star raiders Anup Kumar and Kashiling Adake. Backed into a corner with Darshan Kadian the last man standing, U Mumba fans could sense an early capitulation coming from their team. Striding up to the Thalaivas defence, Darshan hedged his bets and gave it his all in his raid attempt. To the thrill of the U Mumba fans, he executed an audacious Super Raid. Perhaps boosted by Darshan’s manoeuvre, the U Mumba defence pulled off some superb defensive manoeuvres of their own to deal the Thalaivas an All-Out. Darshan continued to raid effectively for U Mumba, giving his team an 18-15 lead in the first-half.

U Mumba started off the second half more solid than the previous, with substitute Mohan Raman G being introduced. Mohan pulled off some impressive raiding and pushed his team’s lead to 21-15. Ajay Thakur’s raids were imperative in keeping the Thalaiavas afloat and he piled on the pressure on U Mumba. Bringing his opponents down to three men at one point in the second half, U Mumba were spared from an All-Out thanks to their defence. 

Barely hanging on to their lead, U Mumba slipped up after being dealt an All-out in the 36^th minute. With the chances of preserving a 29-30 lead appearing non-existent, U Mumba decided to switch to a more aggressive style of play. The Thalaivas responded with aggression of their own, typified by C. Arun’s tackle taking out Shrikant Jadhav. With the scores level at 35-35 in the final 2 minutes, Ajay Thakur threw caution to the wind and rushed into a raid, which he stunningly converted into 2 vital points, enough to claim victory for the Thalaivas, leaving U Mumba’s hopes for a Playoff berth shattered.